Model car and track system



Dec. 30, 1969 R. H. FEIKEMA MODEL CAR AND TRACK SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 31, 1968 INVENTOR. Ross-R H. FEIKEMA Ma/( 22 iz- ATTORNEY Dec.30, 1969 R. H. FEIKEMA 3,486,271

MODEL CAR AND TRACK SYSTEM Filed May 51, 1968 s Sheets-Shet 2 mmvrozz.F065;? H. FEIKEMA B ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1969 R. H. F'EIKEMA 3,486,271

MODEL CAR AND TRACK SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 51, 1968 INVENTOR.

ROGER H. FE/KEMA ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 3,486,271 MODEL EAR ANDTRACK SYSTEM Roger H. Feikema, Lake County, Ind. (2944 Hess Drive,Highland, Ind. 46322) Continuation-impart of application Ser. No.593,821, Nov. 14, 1966. This application May 31, 1968, Ser. No. 763,439

Int. Cl. A6311 33/26, 19/00, 19/16 U.S. Cl. 46-243 7 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE This invention discloses a model car which can follow thebanked turn of a track without mechanical or electrical connection tothe track. The outside front wheel is mounted in an elevated positionrelative to the other wheels and the inside turn front wheel is presetat a turn angle. The resiliency of the current pick-up means, the turnof the inside front wheel and the elevation of the outside front wheelcauses the inside front wheel to bear against The subject application isa continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 593,821,filed Nov. 14, 1966, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to the art of controlling model cars ona trackway, and more particularly to a model car having a novelstructure and arrangement of parts for utilizing the inertial forcesacting thereon to automatically control the turning of the model cararound the curve of a track.

The particular problem that this invention is directed is that ofeliminating the groove means in a track and link means connecting amodel car to the track that is otherwise necessary in order to controlthe path of the car thereon. This method of connecting the model car tothe track is artificial and does not realistically represent theoperation of the actual prototype that the model represents. I am alsoaware of slotless race track-model car systems whereby the model car iscontrolled on the track by electrical means; however, the manufacture ofthis system is expensive and the different control circuitry limits theuse of such model cars to a track system having circuitry especiallydesigned to accommodate the control circuitry of the model car. Suchmodel cars are not usable on other tracks which may have differenttrafiic control circutiry even though electrical power provided for thetrack is available and adaptable to operate the drive motor of the modelcar.

In my invention, I provide a model car having a novel structure obtainedby easily and economically altering the design of a conventional modelcar, and a slotless track which includes electrical circuits whichcooperate with the motor circuit of the car to provide the motive poweronly for the car. The track curve turning control of my invention is notaccomplished by slot-link means of the prior art nor by electricalcontrol means but by the cooperation of the altered structure of themodel car and the track of my invention. More specifically, I provide asan object of my invention a model car and track means combination whichis electrically energized to provide motive power only to the model carand means for controlling the path of the model car by constructing themodel car to take advantage of the physical forces acting on the movingcar and the reaction thereto of the track.

Another object of my invention is to provide a model car for operationon a track which requires skill to operate.

Another object of my invention is to provide a model car for operationon a curved track whereby realism in operation is obtained.

Another object of my invention is to provide a model car and trackcombination which is simple and economical to manufacture.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a novel model car andtrack system which accomplishes the turning of the model car to followthe curvature of the track automatically.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent fromthe study of the following detailed description taken together with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a bottom view of the model car of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the model car of my invention showingthe front wheels raised and exaggerated amount to emphasize the factthat the front wheels do not frictionally engage the track to take holdthereof;

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the front wheel assembly of the model car ofmy invention shown resting on the horizontal portion of the track;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the front wheel assembly of the model car ofmy invention shown in operative relation with the banked curve portionof the track;

FIGURE 5 is a plan elevation of the curved track of my invention;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of a portion of the track sectioned at line9-9 of FIGURE 5, showing the straight portion of the track and theprogressive increase of the bank of the track from the straight portionto the center of curvature thereof;

FIGURES 7 and 8 are cross-sectional end views of the track sectionedalong line 77 and line 88 of FIG- URE 5, respectively, with accompanyingforce diagrams to show the change in magnitude of the component forcesacting on a curvilineally travelling mass on different portions of thebanked turn;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional end view of the track sectioned at line 99of FIGURE 5. FIGURE 9 also includes a schematic diagram of theelectrical supply for the track and the model car;

FIGURE 10 is a side elevation of the model car of my invention providedwith a modified front wheel assembly therefor;

FIGURE 11 is another side elevation thereof showing the side oppositethat shown in FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a bottom view of the model car provided with the modifiedfront wheel assembly showing a force couple acting on the car whichcontributes to the turning forces thereon;

FIGURE 13 is a frontal elevation of the modified front wheel assembly ofthe model car of my invention showing its posture relative to thehorizontal straight portion of the track, and showing the elevationaldifference be tween the inside turn and outside turn wheels;

FIGURE 14 is a front elevation of the rear drive wheel assembly of themodel car of my invention showing its position relative to thehorizontal straight portion of the track;

FIGURE 15 is a frontal elevation of the modified front wheel assemblyshowing the elevational position of the wheels relative to the bankedcurve portion of the track; and

FIGURE 16 is a frontal elevation of the rear wheel assembly of the modelcar provided with the modified front wheel assembly showing its posturerelative to the banked curve portion of the track.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIGURES 1 through 9, themodel car of my invention is designated generally by the numeral 10. Myinvention resides in the novel structure of the front wheel assembly andutilization of the electric current pick-up means to partially supportthe front end of the model car. Front wheels 12 are rotatably mounted onthe ends of axle 14 which is connected in any convenient manner to frame16 of car 10. Front wheels 12 are preset to a turn position so that itsradius of curvature is approximately equal to the radius of curvature ofthe turn of track 18. Current bars 20 and 22 are connected to theundercarriage of frame 16. Commutator brushes 24 and 26 are held againsta disc armature (not shown) of an electric motor (not shown) whichdrives rear wheels 28 of car 10. Commutator brushes 24 and 26 arecontained in sockets 30 and 32, respectively, provided in frame 16. Thearmature axle is connected to a gear train (not shown) which meshes withgear 34 fixed to rear axle 36 to which rear wheels 28 are connected anddriven thereby. Current bar 20 is connected by means of wire 38 to aspring bar 40, which is fixed by one end thereof to frame 16 and thefree end thereof is adapted to retain brush 24 in its socket 30. Springbar 40 makes contact with brush 24 and also serves to urge brush 24against the disc armature of the electric motor. Wire 38 includes adiode rectifier 41 in series circuit. Laterally spaced current pick-upbars 42 and 44 are flexibly or pivotally connected at one of their endsto current bars 20 and 22, respectively, and the other ends thereofextend forwardly in advance of front wheel 12. Current pick-up brushes46 and 48 are fixed to the other end of bars 42 and 44, respectively,and are spaced apart so that they are aligned with any adjacent pair ofcurrent strips on track 18. A spring 50 may be provided for each ofcurrent pick-up bars 42 and 44, in which case the tension of springs50', or the flexing bias of pick-up bars 42 and 44 if no springs areemployed, are adjusted so as to react on bars 42 and 44 to contribute tothe support of the front end of the model car so that front wheels 12 donot rest on surface 52 of track 18 with suflicient force to producerolling friction therebetween. With reference to FIG- URE 9, the currentsupply circuit for the track and car illustrated by the diagram issimple since it is not used to control the maneuvering of the car otherthan by speed. Road surface 52 of track 18 includes imbedded therein andflush therewith, a plurality of laterally spaced and parallel metallicstrips which serve as current carrying rails. Strips 54, 56 and 58comprise a starting circuit for four cars, the motor circuits of whichare diagrammed and symbolically designated by letters A, B, C and D. Anypair of adjacent current strips 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70 and 72 provides acircuit for any of the motor circuits A, B, C and D of the model carsriding thereon. The circuits of strips 54 and 58, and 56 and 58 includerectifier diode means 74 and 76 respectively, to match the currentdirection of motor circuits B and D, respectively. Similarly, thecircuits of strips 58 and 54, and 58 and 56 include rectifier diodemeans 78 and 80, respec tively, to match the current direction of motorcircuits A and C, respectively. Switch means 82, 84, 86 and 88 arerespectively provided in starting circuits A, B, C and D for controllingcurrent to any of the model cars. Strips 54 and 56 run generallyparallel around track 18 and are insularly spaced from each other andthe combined width of strips 54 and 56 is approximately equal to thewidth of strip 58. Current pick-up brushes 46 and 48 of model car 10pictorially shown on track 18 in FIGURE 9, are laterally spaced to makecontact with strips 56 and 58 of starting circuits C and D. After beingput in motion and having attained a speed which causes the car to moveto a larger orbit on the track, the lateral s d g movement of he car wil tran f current pic p brushes 46 and 48 to the next adjacent pair ofstrips 58 and and thereby continue to receive a full wave electriccurrent which is rectified by motor circuit C or D to drive its motor.

The starting circuit of rails 56 and 58, and 54 and 58 comprise line 90from an AC. current source 92 to rail 58. By closing any of switch means82 and 84, current passes through the rectifier diode circuit of saidclosed switch means and a model car 10 spanning the starting railsconnecting the circuit of said closed switch means, having adirectionally matching rectifier diode circuit thereby energizing theelectric drive motor to put car 10 in motion. A second model car (notshown) similar to car 10 may be provided having pick-up brushes similarto brushes 46 and 48 but spaced apart to span the width between currentstrips 58 and 54. Power is fed to this second car by closing, forexample, switch means 86 of rectifier circuit B. Of course, this secondmodel car contains a directional diode in its matching motor circuitwhich permits current flow in the same direction as rectifier circuit B.additional circuits A and D are included for rail circuits 54 and 58,and rail circuits 56 and 58. respectively. Though they employ the samerails as circuit B and C, switch circuit A and D include rectifier diodemeans permitting current to flow in opposite directions. Therefore, twoadditional model cars (not shown) may be provided on track 18, havingmotor circuits A and D to permit current flow in the same direction asswitch circuits A and D. Accordingly, the circuits of FIGURE 9. permitfour separate controls for four separate model cars on rack track 18.

In the operation of my invention, model car 10 of my invention is placedon a pair of starting rails such as 58 and 56 on the straight portion ofthe track. Switch means 82 of circuit D for example, is closed to allowcurrent to be supplied to rails 56 and 58. The electric motor of car 10(having a directionally matching rectifier circuit) being thus energizedwill cause it to move forward along the rails. The forward movement ofcar 10 is caused by the driving traction of rear wheels 28. The frontend of car 10 of my invention is slidingly supported by pickup brushes46 and 48. As the velocity of the car increases and moves along thetrack, the car may change or-bital position to other more radiallydistance rail pairs laterally spaced along the track, the circuits ofwhich receive A.C. current which is rectified by the cars diode circuitso that one or the other sine wave of the current cycle passes throughthe cars circuit. As long as the car is on the straight portion of thetrack, the rear wheels which provide equal driving traction and thecurrent pick-up brushes contributing to the support of the front end ofthe model car will cause the model car to travel in the direction thatit is facing and will move laterally therefrom by forces acting on themodel car due to its velocity. 1 accomplish this by providing a bankedcurvature at the turns of track 18. With reference to FIGURE 3, adiagrammatic front view of the front wheels and brush assembly is shownon the horizontal surface 52 of the track straight portion. Front wheels12 are preset in a turned position and shown raised from the tracksurface by the bias action of springs 50 acting on current bars 42 and44. The amount that front Wheels 12 are shown raised is exaggerated :toillustrate the fact that front wheels 12 do not rest on the tracksurface 52 with sufiicient friction to cause effective turning motion.In the actual practice of my invention, I have found that front wheels12 may actually make contact with the track surface, however, the biasof spring 50, or that of current bars 42 and 44 if no springs areprovided other than the leaf spring effect of current bars 42 and 44,are adjusted so that current pick-up brushes 46 and 48 connectingcurrent bars 42 and 44. supports a portion of the weight of the frontend of the model car so that front wheels 12 do not bear on tracksurface 52 with sufficient force to effect a turn.

At the banked curve as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the centrifugal forcedesignated by the symbol Fc acting on the model car travelling aroundthe curvature acts on the center of gravity G of the model car in ahorizontally radial direction which may be resolved into componentforces Fn and Fp which symbolically represents the force normal to thetrack surface 52 and the force parallel to the track surface. When modelcar of my invention enters the turn portion of track 18, a centrifugalforce acting on car 10 will come into being. The turn of car 10 isinitiated on the banked surface of track 18 since the centrifugal forceFc acting against the banked surface generates a force acting on car 10normal to the banked surface 52 of track 18. This force Fn acts on theresiliently supported front end of car 10 in opposition to the bias ofsprings to cause the pressing down of front wheels 12 to thereby makeeffective contact with track surface 52. Since wheels 12 are angularlypositioned at a pre-set turn, the radius of which is approximately thesame as the radius of curvature of the turn of track 18, the car Willauto matically negotiate the complete turn of the trackway as long asthe bank in the turn portion of the track is present. When the car hascompleted the turn and is heading into the straight portion of track 18,the centrifugal force of the car is reduced to a point Where the normalcomponent Fn of the centrifugal force is less than the bias of springs50, thereby allowing springs 50 to return to their normal position. Thisaccomplishes the raising of the front end of car 10 and the lifting offront wheels 12 sufficiently to stop the turning operation. When thisoccurs, the car is facing in a direction substantially parallel with thestraight portion of the track and the car is driven more or lessrectilineally by the driving traction of rear wheels 28 and the frontend thereof is slidingly supported in part by pick-up brushes 46 and 48.

FIGURES 1 through 9 illustrate the model car and track system of myinvention disclosed in the original patent application. Though the modelcar of my invention operating on a banked curve track as illustrated inFIG- URES 1 through 9 function satisfactorily and accomplishes thestated objectives when the track run is relatively long and is providedwith broad curves, numerous experiments conducted subsequent to thefiling of the original application with model cars which operated on ashorter track run provided with sharper curves, it was found that theturn control would be improved if the outside turn front wheel wasadditionally suspended or connected, or otherwise constructed so that itwill not frictionally engage the track when the inertial forces act onthe model car to cause the front end thereof to nose down due to itsrapid travel around the banked curve. This modified front wheel assemblystructure allows only the inside turn front wheel to make effectivecontact with the track, This absence of effective track contact by theoutside turn front wheel permits the tipping of the model car at thecurve thereby raising the inside turn rear drive wheel disengaging itfrom driving contact with the track. This additional feature enables amodel car having the conventional two wheel rear drive to, in effect,disengage the inside turn drive wheel thereby eliminating therectilineal stability of laterally spaced equal traction forces of thetwo rear drive wheels.

Accordingly, this invention as illustrated in FIGURES 10 through 16disclose an improved model car designed to operate on a relatively shorttrack run having sharper turns as a result thereof, and which arecommercially more prevalent.

With reference to FIGURES 10 through l6,numeral designates the model carof my invention provided with the modified front wheel assembly. Frontwheels 112 and 113 are mounted on the ends of axle 114 which isconnected in any convenient manner to frame 116 of car 110. Front wheel112 is preset to a turn position so that its radius of curvatureapproximates the radius of curvature of the turn of track 18. Frontwheel 113 may or may not be preset to a turn position since it may beconnected to axle 114 so as to remain in a raised position and not bearagainst track 18. This may be accomplished in several ways, for exampleaxle 114 may be connected to model car 110 at an angle as shown inFIGURE 13; or wheel 113 may be raised or lowered in a slot typeconnection and thereby be prevented from supporting any of the weight ofthe car; or Wheel 113 may be substantially smaller in diameter thanwheel 112 so that the tread thereof will not reach track 18. Returningto FIGURES 10, .11 and 12, the preferred embodiment of my inventioncontemplates the connection of axle 114 to frame 116 of model car 110 atan inclined angle from the horizontal to maintain outer turn front wheel113 connected thereto at a position raised from the track surface andelevated with reference to inside turn front wheel 112.

In the operation of this invention, the track and electric circuitsupplying power thereto is substantially the same as described above formodel car 10. Also the other parts and the arrangement thereof of modelcar 110 are the same as the corresponding parts on model car 10 andtheir operations are identical with the exception of the front wheelsabove described and the rear drive wheels which have been differentiatedby numeral designations 128 and 129. As the model car 110 enters thebanked curve of track 18, the centrifugal force designated by the symbolFc acting on the model car will act as a moment force about the fulcrumpoint of contact Fm between front wheel 112 and the surface 52 of track18, since front wheel 112 is resiliently supported in a raised positionby current pick-up brush 148. The action of centrifugal force Fc actingwith a moment arm (shown as dotted line) about fulcrum point Fm willcause the tipping of the model car which action will result in theraising of the inside turn rear wheel 128 from track surface 52 as shownin FIGURE 16. The normal component force Fn of the centrifugal force Fcserves to nose the front end of the model car 110 so that front wheel112 makes effective contact with track surface 52 to thereby negotiatethe curve by following the preset turn of front wheel 112. Since frontwheel 113 is raised relative to front wheel 112, a tipping action occurslifting the inside turn rear wheel 128 from drive contact with track 18.

Since rear drive wheel 128 is raised from the track surface 52 of track18, and the effective friction contact with the track surface is made byrear drive wheel 129 and front wheel 112, a force couple Cf (FIGURE 12)is created by the drive of the rear Wheel and the drag of the frontwheel 112 around the center of gravity which assists in the turning ofthe model car 110.

When model car 110 has completed the turn and is heading into thestraight portion of track 18, the centrifugal force P0 of the car isreduced to a point where the normal component Fn of the centrifugalforce is less than the bias of springs acting between frame 116 andcurrent bars 142 and 144, thereby allowing springs 150 and current bars142 and 144 to return to their normal position. This accomplishes theraising of the front end of car 110 and the lifting of the weight fromfront wheel 112 on track surface 52 sufficiently to stop the turningoperation. When this occurs, the car is facing in a directionsubstantially parallel with the straight portion of the track. At thispoint, no effective centrifugal force is acting on the car and the caris returned from its tipped position so that both rear drive wheels 128and 129 makes traction contact with the track to contribute to thesubsubstantially rectilineal run while the front end thereof isslidingly supported by current pick-up brushes 146 and 148.

It is obvious from the foregoing that my invention provides model carwhich automatically accomplishes the following of a banked turn of atrack without providing the cars with link means connecting the cars tothe track and without, in the alternative, providing a complex electriccircuit to propel and control the steering of the model cars. It isfurther apparent that my invention provides a model car and track systemwhich provides realism in operation and requires skill in managing thespeed of the model car. I claim: 1. A model car for use on a trackhaving a straight section and a banked turn section comprising:

a front wheel pre-set in a turn position; a current pick-up memberdepending from said model car for movement on said track; and a springmeans between said car and said current pickup member for resilientlymaintaining said current pick-up member spaced from said car, saidspring member providing a bias between said car and pick-up membereffective to prevent said pre-set front wheel from bearing on saidstraight section of said track and ineffective to prevent said presetfront wheel from bearing on said banked turn section of said track. 2. Amodel car for use on a banked track having a straight section and abanked turn section comprising:

front wheels adjustably connecting the forward portion of said car forpositioning said front wheels in a selective turn position; currentpick-up members adjacent said front wheels for sliding on said track;spring means connecting said car and said current pickup members, andsaid spring means providing a bias force against said car effective toraise said forward portion of said car from said track when said car ison the straight section of said track, and inefiiective to raise saidforward portion of said car from said track when said car is on thebanked turn section of said track. 3. A model car for use on a bankedtrack having a straight section and a banked turn section comprising:

front wheels connecting said car for positioning said front wheels in aselective turn position; current pick-up members adjacent said frontwheels for sliding on said track; spring means connecting said car andsaid current pickup members; and said spring means providing a biasforce against said car effective to support said front wheels fromeffective engagement with said track when said car is on said straightsection of said track, and ineffective to support said front wheels fromeffective engagement with said track when said car is on said bankedturn section of said track. 4. A model car for use on a track having astraight section and banked turn sections comprising: front wheels andrear drive wheels; one of said front wheels being mounted on said modelcar in an inside turn position, the other of said front wheels beingmounted on said model car in an outside turn position, and said other ofsaid front wheels being mounted on said model car at an elevatedposition thereon relative to one of said front wheels and said reardrive wheels. 5. A model car for use on a banked track having a straightportion and turn portions comprising:

front wheels and rear drive wheels, at least one of said front wheelsbeing mounted on said model car in a turn position, said one of saidfront wheels being an inside wheel and the other of said front wheelsbeing an outside wheel. and said other of said front wheels beingmounted on said model car at an elevated position thereon relative tosaid one of said front wheels. 6. A model car for use on a track havinga straight portion and banked turn portions comprising:

front wheels and rear drive wheels; at least one of said front wheelsbeing mounted on said model car in a turn position, said one of saidfront wheels and one of said rear drive wheels being inside turn wheelsand the other of said front wheels and the other of said drive wheelsbeing outside turn wheels; and said model car being tiltable so that oneof said front wheels and said rear drive wheels make co-planular contacton said straight portion of said track, and said front wheels and theother of said rear wheels make coplanular contact on said turn portionsof said track. 7. A model car for use on a track having a straightportion and banked turn portions comprising:

front wheels and rear drive wheels; at least one of said front wheelsbeing mounted on said model car in a turn position, said one of saidfront wheels and one of said rear wheels being inside turn Wheels andthe other of said front wheels and the other of said drive wheels beingoutside turn wheels; current pick-up means having one end thereofconnected to said car, and the other end thereof contacting said trackfor multidirectional movement thereon adjacent said front wheels; saidcurrent pick-up means being resiliently flexible between said endsthereof, said model car being tiltable to alternately position one ofsaid front wheels and both of said rear drive wheels in coplanularcontact on said straight portion of said track, and said one of saidfront wheels and the other of said rear wheels in coplanular contact onsaid turn portions of said track.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,784,527 3/1957 Sariff 46243 X3,243,917 4/1966 Giammarino et a1. 46243 3,271,899 9/1966 Vaughan 46243X ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner

